In
the first match the Green Team played really well against a well drilled Na
Fianna team and practically owned the second half of the match without
capitalising on their near 100% possession of the ball. Terrific defending and
goalkeeping by Matthew Dowdall, Dylan Strain and Joe Bonnar were the highlights
of the first half as we dug in to give ourselves a great chance in the second
half. The game end in a draw one goal and one point each but Raheny Greens can
feel a small bit aggrieved as a good point from John Broderick was waved wide
despite going over the bar.

In
the second match Raheny Greens started a little slowly but again came very
strong towards the end of each half. The game again ended in a draw with the
high scoring John Broderick, Max Osborne (current player of the week) also with a well taken point and
Joseph Doherty covering every blade of grass to ensure that the match ended 6
points Raheny to 3 goals and 5 points Na Fianna.

As
this match was coming towards the end, a great kick by a Na Fianna forward saw
a brilliant high catch and clearance by goalkeeper Tiarnán O Brien save the day
for the Green Team. Overall two very satisfactory displays and results from the
7 Raheny players on view who deserve great credit all round.

For game 1, the Red team came up against a very tough Na Fianna outfit in game 1. We
started really well with some great scores coming from Se Daly, Martin Bishop
and luke McCullough. Na Fianna came rallying back towards the end of the first
half however Raheny went in ahead of the break thanks to some great goal
keeping from Ordhran Carmody and superb defending from Finn and Cathal. In the
second half it was end to end stuff some great last ditch tackles from Ultan
and Cian thwarted the Na Fianna attack. Na Fianna roared back with a few scores
but thanks to a final point by Se. Raheny sneaked over the line.

In game 2, the
Raheny boys were really in their rhythm at this stage. We dominated the first
half with great scores from Martin, Se, Luke. The mid field of Finn and Ultan
did a great job breaking down the Na Fianna attack, with some wonderful goal
keeping by Cian we held Na Fianna to only a few scores. Cathal and Ordhran
continued to pump balls forward to great effect and as a result scoring on
numerous occasions. Raheny red ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Another
great day for the Raheny Red team. The highlight being their interplay and
passing which is a great positive. This was the 8th straight win for this
outfit. Well done boys. Keep up the good work.

Raheny Orange was joined today by Tom Beary and Samuel O Leary from the Under 7s as a number of our team were away. The Orange team also welcomed our lead football mentor, Conor Pitts.

In our first match today against O ‘Dwyer’s, it was a very one sided affair with Raheny Orange dominating all over the pitch. In the first half, Matt up front scored 2 goals from play with his wing-man Ciarán and Colin from midfield scoring 2 great points from play. In the second half Jack was unlucky not to have scored a goal but came up trumps with a great point from play. Ciarán (current player of the week) was awarded a free in which he put over the bar with his left foot. O’ Dwyer’s only provided one goal threat in this half with Samuel providing the Orange’s with a mighty save. The match ended with a 2 – 4 Raheny win with all the players demonstrating great team work.

We were up against a much stronger O ‘Dwyer’s team for our second match but our Orange team were ready for them on the back of their win. From the first blow of the whistle, our Raheny boys made their presence known setting the tempo for the game. In the first half our backs Tom and Jack defended with courage keeping the ball in the Raheny half. The first half ended with a goal from Matt for Raheny. In the second half, Raheny Orange scored two great goals coming off the boot of Conor and Sam with Matt scoring a point from play. The Orange team were unlucky to concede a goal and a point. Raheny held possession for much of the game with great scores coming from long kick out from Ciarán in goal. The match ended with another Raheny win of 3 – 2 to 1 - 1

Today the Orange team demonstrated great passing and moving of the ball and did their jersey proud. Well done lads, keep up the good work!

The blue crew visited O’Dwyers of Balbriggan for a football
outing on Saturday morning. With the Easter Holidays, we were down in
numbers and welcomed the return of Thomas Reddy (current U7) to our ranks. Pitch
conditions were difficult with 3 boys reporting ankle strains during the two
games, keeping the sideline medical support busy for both teams. Game one
was a difficult encounter for the blues, meeting a very efficient Balbriggan
team. Oscar Thomas was kept very busy in goal and he drew praise from
spectators on both sides for his shot stopping abilities. Ryan Kent took
up where he left off last week in defence with some great shot blocks out field
and Luke Kelly must be commended for very tenacious tackling. Johnny
Baldwin teamed up well with Dan O’Grady in Midfield. Both players worked
extremely hard to support their forwards with Dan scoring a wonderfully struck
point before halftime in the first game. James Pitts and Thomas Reddy
were a constant thorn in the oppositions side. Constantly moving into
space and making themselves available to their midfield counterparts.

Game 2 was a much tighter affair. The first half was all about offence
with Balbriggan getting off to a great start scoring 3 goals to our 1
. Dan again was responsible for our first score. Balbriggan were to
get one more goal but Thomas Reddy growing in confidence with each game
sidestepped the attention of his marker and slotted over the only 3pt shot of
the game. Some tactical changes on both sides for the 2nd half
made the remainder of the game very defensive with both teams playing great
defence to deny some brilliant attempts on goal. The game finished 4 pts apiece
with Raheny well deserving the draw.